


Laughing in the Dark

by Ghost_in_the_Hella



Series: To All of You (prompt fills) [21]
Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, F/F, Photography, Polyamory, Prompt Fill, amberpricefield
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-12
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:15:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28032231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ghost_in_the_Hella/pseuds/Ghost_in_the_Hella
Summary: Max sighs heavily. She probably should’ve just come to the darkroom herself some day right after class. But Rachel needed to develop her film, too, and the project is due in three days, and Chloe actually seemed interested to know what kept her girlfriends occupied for some many hours out of the week, and, well… It had seemed like a nice way to spend some time with them both and get some work done at the same time. Until they shut the door and she was immediately reminded of just how short Chloe’s attention span can be when she doesn’t have any form of stimulus in front of her.
Relationships: Rachel Amber/Maxine "Max" Caulfield/Chloe Price
Series: To All of You (prompt fills) [21]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1656067
Comments: 5
Kudos: 47





	Laughing in the Dark

**Author's Note:**

  * For [explosionshark](https://archiveofourown.org/users/explosionshark/gifts).



> Explosionshark prompted me on [tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/ghost-in-the-hella) with "Here, let me help you" and amberpricefield. Title from an episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark? because I'm a giant nerd who grew up in the 90s.

“Ugh. It’s _boring_ in here.”

“Chloe, if you start messing around with your phone, I will _scream_. ‘No lights’ means ‘ _no lights_.’” It’s too dark to see Chloe’s pout, but Max can hear her exasperated huff from somewhere across the small, dark shoebox of a room. 

“But what if–”

“No, not even if you keep the brightness down all the way!” And now Max has lost her place. Her fingers fumble carefully over the crisp edges of the film reel, feeling for the small holes and trying to count them. If she doesn’t trim the film leader evenly, she’ll never be able to get it to spool into the developer tank properly. And she’d rather not have to trim it more than once, because if she cuts up too high she’ll be ruining the first shot on the reel. It doesn’t help that Max feels utterly unmoored in the dark, like the walls and floor have disappeared and she’s floating in a sightless void. “Miss Henderson said even the light from a glow in the dark wristwatch could be enough to ruin a roll of film, and we are _not_ going to waste weeks worth of photographs so you can watch Vines instead of being patient for ten minutes.”

“Told you we should’ve made her wait outside.” Rachel’s amused voice is closer to Max than she would have expected. Even though it was obvious how tiny the room was when the light was on, once the light went off it immediately felt huge and cavernous. Max can hear the smirk in her voice, and for a moment she’s distracted by the mental image of the way her lips are certainly curving. 

Max shakes her head to clear it and starts counting the holes again. “She’d just open the door because she’s bored and ruin our film anyway. At least this way we can keep an eye on her. Well. An ear.”

“Boooooooooooooooring. B. O. R. I.”

“Chloe…”

“N. G. _BORING_.”

Max sighs heavily. She probably should’ve just come to the darkroom herself some day right after class. But Rachel needed to develop her film, too, and the project is due in three days, and Chloe actually seemed interested to know what kept her girlfriends occupied for some many hours out of the week, and, well… It had seemed like a nice way to spend some time with them both and get some work done at the same time. Until they shut the door and she was immediately reminded of just how short Chloe’s attention span can be when she doesn’t have any form of stimulus in front of her.

“You sure you want to keep an ear on her, Max? I’m starting to think we should be keeping a muzzle on her instead.”

“Ooh, kinky!”

Max could swear she’s feeling Chloe’s breath on her neck, but Chloe’s voice doesn’t sound that close so it’s probably just the lack of light playing tricks on her. “Shush, you. This is hard enough without you distracting me.”

“Here, let me help you.”

Familiar fingers ease over Max’s in the darkness, long and smooth and stronger than they look. A warm body presses up against her from behind, solid and grounding. The smell of cigarettes and Chloe’s sweat floods her senses. Max is grateful to the dark for masking the blush she can feel rising swiftly to her face. “O-okay.”

Rachel giggles somewhere in the darkness and Max’s blush intensifies. “Smooth, Price.”

“What? I’m helping.”

To Chloe’s credit, she is actually helping. She holds the film steady for Max, careful to not get fingerprints on the film itself, and Max is able to snip a clean line that she’s almost positive is passably even. It’s much easier to thread the film into the developing tank, too, with Chloe holding it in place as Max spools the film, slotting the holes neatly onto the pegs (and Max tries not to go dirty places with that, because she’s absolutely certain that if she said that out loud Chloe would pounce all over it).

“That’s it?” Chloe asks. “Dude, that was hella easy.”

“Yeah,” Max scoffs, “because you weren’t trying to do a four-hand job with only two.”

Chloe snickers and Max swats her shoulder. She runs her hand down Chloe’s arm and grips her hand. Chloe tangles their fingers together. The room is still a void, but there’s ground beneath Max’s feet now, and she’s starting to relax.

“Hey, Chlo, if Max is done why don’t you lend me a hand?” Rachel suggests.

“Sure,” Chloe chuckles. “Where are you?”

Max can practically feel Rachel rolling her eyes. “Chloe, this is practically a broom closet.”

“Uh, yeah, a _pitch black_ broom closet. Fuckin’ _Narnia_ was in a closet, dude.”

“A wardrobe,” Max corrects her. 

“Whatever,” Rachel sighs. “Just… follow the sound of my voice. Marco!”

“Polo!” Chloe shouts gamely.

Max giggles helplessly as Chloe tugs her around the tiny room. It’s nice not to be alone, she thinks. Even if Chloe can be a pain sometimes, Max loves the way her presence fills any room she’s in, whether it’s an itty bitty darkroom or an entire shopping mall. After so many years apart, Max loves to have her close.

And Rachel… Rachel’s taken a bit of getting used to, if Max is honest. Returning to Arcadia Bay to find her long lost best friend and first girl crush in a hot and heavy relationship with the most popular girl at Blackwell was… a bit of a shock. That Chloe and Rachel were both so open to welcoming her into their lives - and, eventually, into their relationship - still blows her mind.

Max never thought she’d have one incredibly beautiful and amazing person be interested in her. So to have _two_?! And to have them be the two coolest, most gorgeous, funniest, smartest, most talented, most amazing people she’s ever met in her life?! To have them like _her_?! To have them _love_ her!?

Sometimes Max has to pinch herself to make sure she isn’t dreaming.

Max is spared the trouble of pinching herself by a sudden pat on her head. “Yo, space cadet. You still with us? Rach is ready for the lights, and I am hella ready to go destroy some burgers at Two Wales.”

Max double checks to make sure that her developing tank is properly closed and light-tight before squeezing Chloe’s hand and pressing a kiss to her shoulder. “I’m still with you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to explosionshark for the prompt and to all of you for reading! HMU on [tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/ghost-in-the-hella) for more prompts and fandom shenanigans. Comments and kudos are always much appreciated.
> 
> p.s. Remember Vine?


End file.
